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Long commutes cost businesses 20 MILLION days of staff productivity each year, research shows

People who work flexibly are less likely to be depressed or obese

Emily Perryman | 31st May 2019

Long commutes are having a significant impact on people’s
health and cost UK businesses an estimated £5.3bn, an analysis shows.

The study found this to be equivalent to 20 million
working days.

Vitality’s Britain’s Healthiest Workplace, a study of
nearly 26,500 workers, shows 27% of employees in the UK have long commutes
of over 60 minutes, which means approximately 8.7 million employees are
travelling for over 120 minutes a day.

The average daily commute lasts 43 minutes one way, which
equates to the average Brit spending more than 360 hours every year commuting
to work, equivalent to more than two weeks of annual leave.

Employees who commuted for less than half an hour per day
had the equivalent of an extra 2.3 days’ worth of productive time available to
them each year.

People that commuted for over 60 minutes each way were
22% more likely to get less than the recommended seven hours of sleep each
night, when compared to workers with short commutes.

The sectors clocking up the most amount of time commuting
were found to be the construction, accommodation and food service
industries.

The study suggests many employers are making
adjustments and putting in place initiatives to better manage the impact of a
long or stressful commute, in particular around making home working
arrangements available to employees.

Employees who are able to work flexibly were half as
likely to be stressed or depressed, 50% less likely to smoke, 30% less likely
to be obese and 23% less likely to get insufficient sleep. These employees were
shown to have almost eight additional productive days each year compared to
those with no flexible working arrangements.

The study found an increase in the amount of people able
to work flexibly from 52% to 59% in the past two years.

Shaun Subel, director of corporate wellness strategy at
Vitality, said allowing employees the flexibility to avoid the rush-hour
commute where possible, or fit their routine around other commitments, can help
to reduce stress and promote healthier lifestyle choices.